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Marvel Mutiny? DC Defection?

To paraphrase Pulp Fiction’s Mia Wallace: “There are only two kinds of people in the world, Beatles people and Elvis people. Now Beatles people can like Elvis and Elvis people can like the Beatles, but nobody likes them both equally. Somewhere you have to make a choice.”

It’s not difficult to imagine that had the guitar of the late, great Chuck Berry not interrupted their flow, Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega would have eventually applied the same logic to Marvel people and DC people. As much as a Marvel and DC crossover would have audiences salivating like Venom hearing that Daniel Espinosa’s Life might actually be his origin story, it took long enough to recruit Spider-Man into the MCU so a crossover with the DCEU is likely to remain merely the fuel of fan fiction.

However, where we have seen the kind of crossover that would make Mia Wallace choke on her Durwood Kirby Burger, is where actors jump ship; a Marvel Mutiny or DC Defection if you will. Here are some that may have slipped under the radar.

Michael Shannon – General Zod/Cable (rumoured)

After stepping into Terence Stamp’s faux-leather shoes as Man of Steel’s General Zod, Michael Shannon, (the best thing in Boardwalk Empire) is now reportedly the frontrunner to star as Cable against/alongside Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth in Deadpool 2. Expect there to be less city-levelling and more cringe-worthy LOL-ing .

J.K. Simmons – Commissioner Gordon/Jonah Jameson

Although from before Cinematic Universes were a thing, J.K Simmons very nearly stole the show in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy as Jonah Jameson; a diet version of his obnoxious future Whiplash character and Peter Parker’s boss. He’ll no doubt need a more diplomatic approach when he fires up the Bat-signal as Commissioner Gordon in Justice League and The Batman.

Barely recognisable as arguably Batman’s most-implausible villain, Akinnuoye-Agbaje almost got lost in the shuffle in DC’s villain ensemble Suicide Squad. He gets his 15 minutes in Thor: The Dark World however, when he’s transformed from Algrim into Kurse before coming a cropper at the hands of Loki.

Tao Okamoto – Mercy Graves/Mariko

The Wolverine again proves that Logan has no luck with his love interests. After saving her from the clutches of the Yakuza and her Adamantium-obsessed grandfather, Mariko chooses her career over the Wolverine as she promotes herself to CEO of her grandfather’s company. As Batman vs Superman’s Mercy Graves, Okamato doesn’t make it quite as far, missing Lex Luthor’s email about skipping court day and going up in flames as a result.

Of course, much has already been said about the second chance superheroes who have previously crossed over, from Ben Affleck as Daredevil/Batman to Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern/Deadpool, but it looks as if this is as close that Marvel people and DC people will get to witnessing the true superhero smackdown onscreen. Who knows though, where there’s money…